Georgia
Hatton

“The Theatre Design course here is highly renowned. I originally wanted to pursue special effects for film, but most of the successful courses in this area are based in London. I couldn't afford to live in London, so I thought I would consider a course that explored a broader approach to design for performance. Visiting NTU had a big impact on my overall decision to study here. The resources available, particularly the workshops and working theatre, really impressed me.

“What I most enjoy about this course are the opportunities to work on realised performances, or to work on broad, less theatre-specific skills. For example, an assignment in Year Two tasked us to create a comic-style response to a play. I have also worked on several realised projects, and the final year is made up exclusively of industry-standard projects working with external companies. The numerous visits to theatres and backstage tours are also amazing, and we have a brilliant programme of guest lectures.

“During my final year I entered a competition that was run by the Nottingham Playhouse, and it really pushed me to produce my best work. The competition is designed to challenge you to produce the most exciting interpretation of a selected text in order to impress the Associate Director at the Nottingham Playhouse, Fiona Buffini.

“I have completed several placements during my time on the course.  In Year Two, I worked with Bamboozle and Dark Horse Puppetry. As an Assistant Designer, I was able to experience the creative process and rehearsal period for a professional show. It was an invaluable opportunity to work on practical making skills and to get an idea of the opportunities available in the industry post-graduation.

“The lecturers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their topics, and the admin team are really kind and always there to help. The studio space and workshops are two of things I will miss most about university, they are really are an incredible resource. My only regret is that I didn’t use the workshop more!”

Whilst on the course, Georgia also completed ULP - German (Stage 5).
Read more about her experience..

“I didn’t carry on studying German after my GCSEs as I chose A-level subjects which would benefit my main career interests and although I enjoyed studying languages, I struggled with them. However, I saw the University Language Programme (ULP) advertised during Fresher’s Week and realised that it gave me the opportunity to continue studying German without the pressure of a formal grading.

“I have been learning German through evening classes, which meant that I could fit sessions around my main course subject. It also means that there are small class sizes, which presents a greater opportunity to practice speaking.  There’s a good balance between learning conversational skills and grammar.

“I was fortunate enough to be granted the Clear Thinking Language Scholarship in my first year which depends on me progressing to a new stage each year. The step between each stage is quite big and I’ve found it really challenging to maintain. However, I’m really proud that I’ve been able to pass each year and progress further.

“The academic staff have been incredibly supportive. They encouraged me to go for the scholarship in my first year and have provided structured learning opportunities in class and through coursework. They have also encouraged us to engage in extracurricular practice by advertising the tandem scheme, summer courses and speaking groups and by recommending music, magazines and films in German.

"Learning another language is never going to be this cheap, this convenient or well supported, so go for it. NTU offers a very generous scholarship programme, which in some cases (as it did in mine) will pay for your tuition fee for the ULP and funding for you to travel in a country, which speaks your chosen language, for all three years. The ULP is an opportunity, which shouldn’t be missed. I can’t recommend it enough."